Ed's Nightmare
by Elmblossom17
Summary: Ed has a nightmare, and Jet comforts her.


Ed's Nightmare

A Cowboy Bebop Fanfiction

by Elmblossom17, aka Jessica Robinson

04/16/'03

Warnings & Disclaimers Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop. I have no money. I am writing this only for my own enjoyment and not financial gain. Please don't sue. Warning: This is not a romantic fic. It is a fic about Ed having a nightmare, and then being comforted in a fatherly manner by Jet. There are no romantic undertones to this fic! None!

Ed was sleeping on the floor halfway down the hall that led from the bridge of the Bebop to the living area. She was dreaming. It was not a good dream.

Dream Sequence

Ed ran as fast as she could towards her Father-person, who was running just as fast as his daughter was in the same direction, some fifty feet ahead of the redheaded girl. He was laughing, and his laughter floated on the wind back to Ed's ears. She kept running and running, but she could not reach him. Everything around the pair started to dissolve and disappear, but Ed kept trying to get to her Father-person. She ran and ran and ran until there was a painful stitch in her side and she was forced to slow down. Panting, she stopped, almost falling to the ground. She stared after her Father-person in something like terror as he started to fade away into nothingness. Then, just before he vanished, he stopped, turned, and waved at Ed. "Goodbye!" she heard him say, even though he was so far away that there was no way she could have heard him. And then he was gone.

Dream Sequence Ends

Ed woke up with tears streaming down her face, shaking, curled into the fetal position against the cold metallic decking of the Bebop. Her soft sobs echoed down the hallway, amplified by the metal walls, until they reached a sleeping form in a small room full of small trees in small boxes. The sleeper shifted uncomfortably and then woke, aroused by the sobbing from down the hall.  
Jet rubbed at his eyes, wondering who the hell would be crying onboard the Bebop. Spike never cried. Faye only cried in the shower, and he could hear no water running. Ed- well, Ed was always happy, about everything. Ein was a dog. He only whimpered.  
The anguished sounds grew louder, and Jet cursed under his breath. Standing, he ambled down the hall, and almost tripped over Ed's curled-up body laying on the floor.  
"What the hell...?" he said softly, confused beyond belief. "Ed? What's the matter, girl"  
Ed looked up at him, and her huge eyes glistened with tears. They sparkled, even in the semidarkness of the hallway. "J-j-jet-person?" she finally said, and then put her head down again.  
"Ed? Are you ok?" Jet asked, feeling worried. This was utterly unlike the cheerful, childlike Ed he knew and lov- cared about. He cleared his throat.  
"Ed is fine," Ed said, her voice muffled by her arms. She didn't sound fine to Jet. "Ed just had a bad dream. Bad dream, very bad dream," she repeated, whispering. Jet almost couldn't make out what she was saying.  
"Hmmm," Jet said, pondering what he ought to do. He sighed. Leaning down, he scooped the child up in his arms and carried her back toward his room. After setting her down in his bed, he said, "Tell you what. The floor out there's awful hard. I figure you can sleep in here tonight, since you had a nightmare and all"  
Ed lay on her side, still halfway curled into a ball, and looked at the man she sometimes thought of as a father-type-person. "Ed would like that," she said quietly. Her dream still replaying itself in her mind, she shuddered.  
"Do you want to tell me about it?" Jet said, seeing her shivering. He pulled the blanket up over her frail body, wondering if she was cold. Thin hands clutched it around her shoulders, and he grinned.  
"Ed was chasing Ed's Father-person... Ed could not catch him. He went away," she said abruptly, and pulled the warm blanket snug around her.  
"I'm sorry," Jet said softly, his eyes softening with sympathy. "You must miss him a lot," he said.  
"Ed has Jet-person, and Faye-faye, and Spike-lunk-head, and Ein-woof-woof," Ed said, sleep starting to creep up on her again. She felt warm and comfortable, and safe, for once. "Ed is not sad... Ed has a new family now"  
Jet was startled. He hadn't imagined that any of his adopted 'children' felt the same way about him as he did for them. Thinking about it, he figured it wasn't all that unlikely. They had all been alone, just like him. As lonely as he was.  
"So do I," he murmured to the sleeping child, stroking her wild red hair. It was softer than he'd imagined. "Sleep well, Ed... daughter."

Email: 


End file.
